My brother and his girlfriend have recently separated and she took their 5 year old son, my brother is on the birth certificate and also had a dna test proving he is the father. Our problem is , the mother is living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 6 people , including her new boyfriend. She does not work, my brother has a full time job, pays child support, and has a home for his son, who is being passed from one person to another , because he has no place to sleep. What steps can my brother take to get his son>>thank you

Are there any court orders in place? Is your brother on good terms with the child's mother? Has he tried to talk to her about what his son is having to go through? How much money does he have to 'fight it out'? How you answer those questions will play a huge part in how I, or anyone else, would answer. Remember the courts tend to lean to the mother having the child and the father having visitation but it doesn't have to be that way? If its better for the child to live with dad and see mom on the weekends that is the way the courts will go. Sadly, it all depends on what he can prove and submit to the courts and how bad the Judge sees it.

Any way you answer I would say get your brother to a family law attorney in your area. If no orders are in place then they will have to be set up, if there are orders in place, they will be changed - but until then follow them. If he is on good terms then maybe he can just talk to her and offer to take his son for a while "until she gets on her feet" and give him a 'calm' home. If she doesn't agree he needs to figure out how much he is willing to do in order to fight her in court.

An unmarried father has any and all rights a married father has... especailly since he is on the birth certificate and that is backed up with a DNA test.

The thing is that he has to ACT on those rights. Nothing is going to solve itself if he chooses to do nothing.

His FIRST step should be with an attorney.

He needs to get an attorney and sue for custody.